A dynamic isotope power system in a spacecraft such as a satellite, has an organic Rankine cycle which requires a radiator/condenser system to reject waste heat to space. Due to the demands for limiting the radiator area on the spacecraft, there is a need for a radiator system which can be deployed from a stowed position to a deployed position where both sides of the radiator can serve to reject waste heat to space thereby minimizing the necessary radiator area and weight. An arrangement for mounting a panel, such as a radiator panel, on a spacecraft must also have great reliability and be lightweight.
Arrangements for deploying solar panels on spacecraft are known from NASA JPL Technical Report 32-1519 entitled "Lightweight Solar Panel Development" by Walter A. Hasbach, Mar. 15, 1971, pages 2-7, 15 and 6, for example. An inflatable radiator system for a satellite has been disclosed by Vought Systems Division of LTV Aerospace Corporation as indicated in a publication entitled "Heat Rejection Systems Development Programs". German Offenlegungsschrift DE 3,042,923 July 1, 1982, discloses a clamping arrangement for spacecraft solar panels using cables with sprung bands connected thereto for holding down and deploying panels. U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,309 discloses radiator tubes which are pivotably mounted at one end for deployment. A torsion spring actuator at hinged connections between solar panels and a spacecraft is shown in FIGS. 10 and 13 of the Proceedings European Symposium on Photovoltaic Generators in Space, "Development Of A Rigid Fold-Out Solar Array For 3 Axes-Stabilized Geosynchronous Satellites" by G. Barkots, Nov., 1978, pp. 169-171. U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,715 discloses a resilient hinge assembly for a display structure for merchandising goods wherein a band of plastic material incorporates a central flexible bridge interconnecting a pair of end elements. A leaf spring extends across the flexible bridge and is connected to the end elements for imparting a required degree of restoration force to the assembly.